Credit Unions Paying Out 2012 Bonus Dividends

by Ken Tumin

One of the advantages of credit unions is that any profits credit unions make are paid back to their members. If a credit union has a good year and its reserves and capital are in excess of what is necessary, it will often make a special end-of-year payout (dividend) to its members. A credit union will usually determine the amount of the dividend based on how much deposits and loans a member has with the credit union.

In the last few years these payouts haven’t been common. Just like banks, credit unions’ profits have been hurt by loan losses, weak loan demand and low investment returns. Another cost to credit unions has been the assessments from the NCUA to pay for the corporate credit union bailout.

Last December I reported on four credit unions that had bonus dividend payouts for 2011. I was only able to confirm 2012 bonus dividend payouts for two of these four credit unions.

Some credit unions may have not yet reported the year-end bonus dividend. Also, some credit unions are late in publicly posting the news. If your credit union has announced a 2012 bonus dividend, please leave a comment.

Most bonus dividends are small, but if a member has a large savings and/or loan balance, bonuses can be significant. One credit union reported a bonus dividend to one member of $3,300. What’s the largest dividend bonus that you have ever received from a credit union? Did you have a large savings or loan balance?

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